Gemma 3 on Apple M3 Pro · 18GB

✅ Runs (tight) — Gemma 3 12B @ Q3_K_M
Gemma 3 12B at Q3_K_M needs ~9.0 GB (weights 5.5 GB + KV 3.0 GB + overhead 512 MB @ 8K ctx) of your 9.1 GB usable (of 18.0 GB unified memory) — fits, but little headroom — close other apps or trim context. Expect ~9–15 tok/s (usable).
context @ Q3_K_M: comfortable to 2K · runs to 16K · won't fit past that on this rig
quantneedsspeed
~ Q8_015.7 GB~0.7–1 tok/s (slow)
~ Q5_K_M11.6 GB~0.9–1 tok/s (slow)
~ Q4_K_M10.4 GB~1–2 tok/s (slow)
✓ Q3_K_M9.0 GB~9–15 tok/s (usable)
$runlocal install gemma3:12b
runlocal verdict card
download card share on x share on reddit drop it in your model-drop post
Gemma 3: Runs (tight)
for your own README — links back here

Same model, other machines: Apple M1 · Apple M1 Pro · Apple M2 · Apple M2 Pro · Apple M4 Pro · Apple M3 Max

Also runs on a Apple M3 Pro: DeepSeek-R1 (distill) · Qwen2.5 · Mistral 7B · Qwen3 · Llama 3.1

Best models for a Apple M3 Pro · 18GB →

Architecturally similar

These share Gemma 3's KV-cache geometry — they size memory the same way, so here's how they fit on a Apple M3 Pro · 18GB too:

modelsharesverdict here
Gemma 4 8kv/256hd 🐢 CPU-only (slow)
Gemma 2 16kv/128hd4kv/256hd8kv/256hd ✅ Runs (tight)
Falcon3 7B 4kv/256hd ✅ Runs (tight)

Check any combo yourself: open the checker →